THE INSIDER’S TELL-ALL HANDBOOK ON WEIGHT-TRAINING TECHNIQUE
Physical self-knowledge
Many common and not-so-common conditions
can greatly influence how well you will tolerate cer-
tain exercises or specific variations of them. What
may be safe for most people may be unsafe for you.
Knowing your body well will help you to train with
safety uppermost in your mind. Always remember
that you cannot make any gains in the gym if you
are injured and unable to train hard.
Many people go through life knowing little or
nothing about their physical irregularities, until
they get injured. Conditions including scoliosis,
arms or legs that are different in length, excessive
lordosis, postural problems, spondylolysis, and flex-
ion imbalances between one side of the body and
the other, can all influence the exercises you select or
avoid in the gym, and how specifically you perform
them. Some physical irregularities may be correct-
able, or at least treatable so that their negative ef-
fects can be lessened.
Get a thorough understanding of your physical
structure and biomechanics, especially as it influ-
ences training. Do this before you get an injury that
may force you to discover your physical irregulari-
ties. To do this, locate a chiropractor, ideally one who
specializes in sports injuries. Look for the Certified
Chiropractic Sports Physician qualification (CCSP).
Some experienced osteopaths and physiotherapists
can also provide excellent service. To try to ensure
that the person you consult is competent, check that
he is registered with your country’s appropriate na-
tional association.
In addition, consult a foot specialist such as a po-
diatrist. Foot problems such as flat feet or bunions
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can seriously affect squatting and deadlifting form.
A foot specialist may be able to help you to reduce if
not eliminate the negative impact of a foot problem
on your exercise form.
The emphasis is upon getting advice from an
expert in biomechanics and manipulative therapy
who is familiar with weight training, or at least sym-
pathetic to it. Ideally, the professional you consult
should be a trainee himself and know the weight-
training movements, or at least he should be willing
to learn them from you. He should then be able to
help you to determine the exercises or specific varia-
tions of them that are not well suited to your in-
dividual structure, and which need to be used with
special caution, or perhaps even avoided.
Of course, any skilled physical therapist should
be able to help you with most injuries, and greatly
speed up recovery time should you get injured. For
example, skilled chiropractic adjustment, used ap-
propriately, may make you believe in miracles. But
recovering from injury is not enough. You need to
make the right decisions about exercise selection
and technique to prevent the injuries from recur-
ring. This is why you need to know your own body
very well, and use excellent exercise technique.
Within practical constraints, seek the best possi-
ble sports-minded expert in biomechanics, manipu-
lative therapy, and injuries. You may need more than
one person to cover all these areas. By doing this
you will add life to your training years, and years to
your training life.